I Do
by East-Coast-Invictus
Summary: Torn takes a shot for Ashelin. Post Jak3, T/A


It had barely been six months after Jak had defeated the Dark Makers and the KG bots still fought on. But it was predicted that the end wasn't far off. As she was governor, he wouldn't let her fight. She had argued that she could fight just fine. He replied that they wouldn't risk having her killed, no matter what her skills were. So, instead of fighting, she helped at the aid stations. Then the attack happened. Everything was such a blur. She could remember taking his hand and him pulling her to her feet and shoving one the pistols he carried into her hand. Very dimly she could remember him yelling something over the noise of the attack. _"I got your back!"_ Then she was pushed towards the exit, his pistol taking down anything in their path. There, they were apprehended by KG bots and surrounded. It was then the pistol came alive in her hand, the automatic mowing down the bots around them. They moved together, back to back just like they used to before the rebellion.

Then it happened. With everything moving in slow-motion, one shot seemed to crack out louder than the rest. She could see it coming but couldn't move fast enough to dodge it. It was then she was jerked off her feet and thrown sideways into a wall. The bullet struck his unprotected back, entering just above his left shoulder blade. From the ground she watched him fall to one knee, a hand clutching at his shoulder. Then everything sped up again and she remembered no more until she was helping him away from the aid station, the ruins of the KG bots all around. The pain from the wound was etched on his tattooed face though he fought not to show it. She watched him with worried eyes. Those intense eyes found hers once again but only for a second. He had batted her hands away from him as he turned to see to his troops.

It wasn't until after every wounded soldier was being evacuated to another aid station, did he appear weary. He leaned heavily against the wall of the battered aid station. She could see the red seeping through his thick shirt. It would stain the blue fabric. His second in command, Jinx walked up to him and told him he ought to take a rest. _"You oughta get some shut eye or somethin' 'cuz you look terrible. You feelin' all right?" _Jinx hadn't noticed the shoulder wound. She watched him nod once and move to follow Jinx. Suddenly on pure instinct she cried out, pointing towards him. Jinx spun around and just barely caught him as he collapsed. It was then the second in command noticed the wound. By that time, she had ran over to help Jinx. His lean figure limp in their hands, they carried him to the small speeder that Jinx drove. Jinx piled into the front seat while she sat with him in the back. As she pulled him up to lean on her, she felt the slight throb of his pulse. That was a good thing. Tearing a strip from her shirt, she wadded the cloth up and pressed it against the wound to stop the bleeding. It would still be at least fifteen minutes before they could get him to a medically sound building. Would he last that long? The thick shirt he wore had hidden the amount of blood he had been losing during the twenty minutes he had fretted about his troops.

With Jinx driving, they made it to a medical center in ten minutes flat. Jinx had phoned ahead of time so people were already running out to meet them. It was here that the most critical of the troops' casualties were brought. Things happened so fast. He was bourne away on a stretcher, leaving Jinx and her standing in the waiting room. Jinx pinched the end of his cigar out and tossed it into a potted plant next to the doors. With a grim expression, he went over and sat down. Her own expression slightly worried, she remained standing. There were a couple of New Krimzon Guards waiting as well. They had risen from their seats when he was brought in. They were now sitting on either side of Jinx asking what had happened. She felt something on her hand and brushed it off by wiping it on her shirt. The hand came away red. Startled she glanced down at her shirt to find the front soaked. His blood.

Time seemed to slow down. It had only been fifteen minutes since they had arrived. Her eyelids were getting heavy and she had to fight to keep them open. Her vision blurred and the next thing she knew she was being shaken awake. It was Jinx. It took her a few seconds to wake up fully. Jinx was saying something. _"Hey, get up. You've been asleep since yesterday." _She came awake in her own little room at the newly rebuilt palace in Haven City. Yesterday. She nodded dimly and Jinx left the room. She was still fully dressed so she swung her legs over the side of the bed and rubbed her face with her hands. They were still blood-stained.

After changing into a fresh set of clothes and washing her hands, she set off down the hall towards the throne room. The day's work would have to be started. With a sigh, she wondered if he was all right. She hadn't paid much attention to Jinx's expression this morning. When she got to the throne room, a guard came up to her and said that a meeting had been scheduled at the HQ. Who had scheduled it, she wondered.

She borrowed a speeder and headed over. As the shielded doors slid open to reveal the control room, she couldn't believe her eyes. There he was standing over a holo scale map of the city! He looked as good as new apart from his left arm in a sling. Jak stood beside him, leaning against the console as he pointed to various red dots and symbols. Jinx was on his other side, arms crossed over his chest. Samos was opposite of them, Onin and Pecker off to the side. Keira was beside her father. With a swallow, she set what she hoped was a normal expression and walked over. She was greeted normally: a smile and greeting from Samos and Keira, a nod and a smirk from Jak, Onin made a few hand signals which Pecker translated as a hello. Him and Jinx were too involved in strategy to really say hello.

The meeting lasted probably ten minutes after she got there. The plan was to play guerilla warfare. They would strike with specialized teams where it hurt and then fade away. After the meeting had ended and everyone else cleared out, it left only him and her. He turned off the holo console and popped a disk out of the drive. It was then he glanced up and their eyes met for the third time. He greeted her with a nonchalant 'hey'. She replied the same as she walked over to thank him for yesterday. _"I wanted to thank you for what you did for me yesterday."_

He smirked. _"Anything for the governor."_

"_But you could've died."_

He shrugged his good arm and didn't answer as he turned away to put the disk in a storage bin. _"And shouldn't you still be in bed?" _she said, crossing her arms and fixing him with a look that reminded him of a mother scolding a child. He chuckled and grinned, leaning against the storage bin.

"_You sound like my mother."_

"_Well, somebody's has to watch out for you," _she replied, walking over and putting her hand over his.

"_And you think that person is you?" _The question wasn't mocking but serious. She met his steady gaze. She pulled him to her and put her arms around his neck, mindful of the sling.

"_I do."_


End file.
